February 2016 found my husband and I vacationing in Costa Rica with friends. This was the first trip the 6 of us had taken together, but I hope it’s not the last. Gene and Marilyn planned the trip and they couldn’t have picked a better get away. Tim and Kelly, as well as Bill and I, jumped at the chance to join them because we all love adventure. And, well, I’ll pretty much go anywhere with Marilyn. It was awesome for the six of us to enjoy so much time together relaxing and exploring. Costa Rica is known to be the country with more monkeys than humans. And oh man, saw a crazy number of monkeys!
Howler monkey 
Capuchin (White face) monkey
I grew up in the Midwest where it is common to see black squirrels in the trees, in the yard, running long the fence tops, or just about everywhere else outside. Once, while sitting on the back porch, I watched as squirrels carried nuts from the backyard through the clothes dryer vent and into the vacant house next store. The homeowner later found that the squirrels had filled a hall closet half full of walnuts. Evidently they were planning to winter in this nice three bedroom home!
Black squirrel in Iowa eating a black walnut
I know about squirrels, but monkeys-nope. I have to say that seeing monkeys up close, without a zoo cage between us, was a new experience for me. And it was fascinating. Still, I refer to the experience by saying that Costa Rica has monkeys like Iowa has squirrels-they are all over the place!
Costa Rica has four types of monkeys: Howler, Capuchin (White face), Squirrel and Spider monkeys. I believe we only saw the Howler and the Capuchin monkeys. The Capuchins were so fun to watch. They were very playful with each other, and rumor has it that they can be mischievous, as well. We stayed at the Conchal Hotel in Playa Brasilito, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. This boutique hotel was charming. The rooms featured local decor and were always spotless. The pool was refreshing. The restaurant was the best in town, featuring seafood and tasty umbrella drinks. I highly recommend it. The owners were ever-present and offered a treasure trove of local information. Including that they had recently reroofed the restaurant and trimmed back the trees. Previous to this, the monkeys would wait on the rooftop, watch the guests in the pool, and jump down to steal away their belongings if left unattended too long!
Conchal Hotel pool 
Conchal Hotel restaurant
Another animal we saw was not nearly was fun to watch….
Costa Rica is home to 600 types of birds. Not the kinds of birds I grew up seeing in the Midwest; Costa Rica has big colorful birds. Some pretty birds even like to get up close and personal:
Bill making friends with a parrot 
I think they are friends now
Marilyn’s new friend 
I think the parrot is eyeing Tim’s glasses
The local children are skilled at sighting wild Macaws. One hot afternoon, we even paid a child 50 cents for pointing one out to us. I don’t have a picture of it, and I can’t swear that I really even saw it, I only know for sure that Costa Rica has beautiful Macaws and that we paid to see one!
The six of us enjoyed our fair share of beach time. Marilyn learned to snorkel on this trip. Then she proceeded to search for local fish, dolphin, sea turtles and humpback whales!
Bill encouraging Marilyn to snorkel 
Marilyn, tell us if you see a shark
Brasilito Beach
I will forever remember this beach as the beach where Kelly refused to get off the massage table. You see, every day two local entrepreneurs walked back and forth advertising massages. Ten dollars for 30 minutes, twenty dollars for an hour. I went every day for a twenty dollar massage and thoroughly enjoyed every relaxing minute of it. I kept asking Marilyn and Kelly to join me, but they kept declining. About day four, Kelly finally decided that she would do a 30 minute massage for ten dollars. On massage tables next to each other, I closed my eyes readying for an hour of luxury. Thirty minutes later Kelly’s beach massage lady gently told her that her massage was over. No movement and no sound from Kelly. A few moments later the kind lady again reminded Kelly that her time was up. No movement and no sound from Kelly. I didn’t want to interfere, but I began thinking to myself “oh man, Kelly isn’t going to get off that table”! After the third reminder, Kelly finally announced that she would be staying for the full hour! I cracked up! I knew it! I mean, seriously, who doesn’t want a full hour massage on the beach?
The sweet fellowship of breaking bread together with friends is always a blessing.
Wait…Did I mean … 
eating sugar cane in the field?
I really meant dinner at Papayas, Conchal Hotel
And of course, all evenings ended with a beautiful sunset. I am thankful for great times with cherished friends. What are you thankful for today?
